Yeah, that's really the cover of a Chick Corea record. As if The Leprechaun and The Mad Hatter weren't enough...

I just read that the Smurfs, the lovable band of blue forest denizens who lived in mushroom houses, are celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year. Belgian Pierre Culliford (aka "Peyo"), a projectionist turned comic artist, introduced the original blue man group in a 1958 comic strip, a story of Johan & Peewit in "Le Journal de Spirou". I, however, remember them very fondly from my TV-heavy childhood. At that time, I thought Gargamel and Asrial (meow) were a lot cooler. Expect a Smurf Tour later this year (yes, really), plus new comics and DVDs of the television series. "La - la - la la - la la, sing a happy song ..."